Cajun Chicken Pasta

I am completely head-over-heels in love with this one pan Cajun Chicken Pasta dish!

It’s creamy, it’s spicy, and it’s bursting full of flavors that will warm you to the bone.

Oh and did I mention it’s a ONE PAN dish??

I was craving Chili’s Cajun Chicken Pasta, so I decided to make my own version. I used rigatoni for my noodles, because that creamy sauce gets stuck inside of those giant noodles and it’s just magical when you take a big bite.

Since this is a ONE PAN meal, you’ll want to make sure you start with a nice big pan. Teflon Brand recently sent me a 5 quart Farberware Jumbo Cooker that is coated with Teflon. It’s the perfect size for creating simple meals for your family.

Then heat up a tablespoon of oil in your large pan, swirling it around to coat the bottom.

Toss in the chicken (you’ll probably have to do this in two batches since it’s a lot of chicken and you don’t want to crowd the pan). Cook on one side for 2-3 minutes then flip, and cook for 2-3 minutes on the other side.

Once the chicken is cooked remove it with a slotted spoon to a clean plate.

Now it’s time for the veggies. Chop up an onion and red bell pepper into small pieces.

Then grab a few cloves of garlic and give them a good mincing.

Add a tablespoon of oil to the pan and get it back up to a high heat. Toss in the onion, red bell pepper and garlic. Let the veggies cook at a high heat and try not to push them around too much. You’re trying to caramelize, and blacken the veggies a bit.

Sprinkle with a little more Cajun Seasoning and salt if desired.

After the veggies have cooked for about 4-5 minutes add some chopped mushrooms and cook for another 2 minutes.

Then remove the veggies to the same plate as the chicken. Take a taste and be amazed.

Back to the pan…

Add some white cooking wine, a little water and a reduced sodium homestyle chicken stock concentrate by Knorr. (or you can just omit the water and stock concentrate for just chicken broth). Let the mixture bubble, then use a spatula to scrap any browned bits off the bottom of the pan.

Add some heavy cream and a little cream cheese to the mixture. Season with a little salt and pepper and a dash more Cajun Spices according to your taste preference.

Stir until the mixture starts to thicken, and becomes nice and creamy.

Add the chicken and vegetable mixture back to the pan (including any drippings from the chicken and veggies that found it’s way to the bottom of the plate). Add your cooked pasta and toss to coat, cooking for an additional 2 minutes to reheat the chicken and veggies.

Top with some diced tomatoes and sliced green onions. Then sprinkle on some fresh Parmesan cheese.

You can serve this with some garlic bread and a salad.

Or just eat it by itself.

And then eat the leftovers for breakfast because you’re an adult, and adults can do these things.

In a large pan heat 1 tbsp oil over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with enough Cajun seasoning to coat lightly. Place half the chicken in the pan (making sure not to crowd the chicken), let the chicken brown on one side for 2-3 minutes then flip over and finish browning on the other side for 2-3 minutes. Remove chicken with a slotted spoon to a clean plate. Repeat with remaining chicken.

Turn heat up to high and add the remaining tbsp of oil. Toss in the onion, red bell pepper and garlic. Sprinkle with a little more Cajun seasoning and salt and pepper. Try not to stir the mixture too much, let it caramelize and blacken slightly. After about 4-5 minutes add the mushrooms and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Remove the veggies to the plate with the chicken.

Back in the pan add ½ cup white cooking wine, chicken stock concentrate and water (or substitute the concentrate and water for 1½ cups chicken broth). Bring to a boil and scrap any browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Let the mixture cook for a bit and reduce in size by half.

Turn the heat down to medium and add the heavy cream and cream cheese. Stir with a whisk until mixture is smooth and creamy.

Add the chicken and veggies back to the pan and stir to coat, cooking until mixture thickens (about 2-3 minutes). Add in the cooked pasta and toss to coat.

Serve topped with the diced tomatoes and sliced green onions and a little Parmesan cheese on top.

Enjoy.

3.3.3077

Are you ready to cook up some dinner now?

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We always go to “chicken voila” garlic chicken. It’s in the frozen food isle. My kids love it and they just pick around the veggies that they don’t like, and they even eat some of them too! It’s a very similar idea to this recipe, I can’t wait to try this!

My favorite go-to dinner is rice pilaf! And let me just say, far before I realized the giveaway was the jumbo cooker, I was already drooling over that pan. It’s awesome! The size! The teflon! The SIZE!! Great giveaway.

Hey! This looks delicious. I’m confused by the pasta instructions, though. In the ingredients the pasta is listed as “6 cups Rigatoni (or Penne) Pasta, cooked” but the first instruction in the recipe is “Prepare pasta according to package instructions.”

How much uncooked pasta should I use or should I have 6 cups of pasta after cooking?

Shawn, we made this tonight… I love the creaminess! Very yummy, pretty easy. (Didn’t have any onions and don’t like mushrooms, but otherwise followed your recipe to a T. My first time cooking with white cooking wine (ewww, smelly) was a little nervous about that, but it came out great.

Hi, I'm Shawn and I'm a busy mom of four; pretending to live on a budget. I love to cook, and explore new recipes, but they have to be quick and easy with as few dishes as possible. Cause when it comes down to the end of the day the last thing I want to do is the dishes so, I Wash...You Dry! [Read More …]

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